Anthargange - Night Trekking and Cave Exploration
There is no doubt that Karnataka is
trekker's paradise and If you are in Bangalore, then you have so many places around within 70-80 km area and the best
part is, many places offer night trekking. Most of these trekking places are
in hill area, well maintained, good hiking trail, and offer excellent views at the top. You name it
Savandurga (40 km), Madhugiri (80), Skandagiri (70), Anthargange (60),
Ramanagara (60), Nandi Hills (55-60), and many more.
I love trekking, not because it has health benefits or it challenges you physically or mentally but it allows me to witness the beauty of nature as well as helps to get away from the grind of daily life. If its weekend, Trekking has been always a good option and can be completed within one day.
This time we explored Anthargange
Hill and caves. Its hardly 60 km from Bangalore, We started from Forum Value
Mall, from there drive 11 KM towards Bridage golden triangle / Kattanallur and
then hit the NH75, smooth 41 km drive on NH75 towards Kolar and then you will
see a road sign which tells where you take the left turn to Anthargange (5 km before Kolar). From
the highway another 5 km and you will reach the destination.
Let's get into the history of this
place. The temple of Sri
Kashi Vishweshwara has historical and religious significance. Anthargange is also known as Dakshina Kashi. The interesting thing is in the temple you can see a pond that gets
a continuous flow of water emerges from a narrow opening in the rock and the
source of water is still unknown.
It was a big group of 16 and four
cars. We started from Forum Value Mall around 11 PM and around 12:30 AM reached
there. Well maintained parking lot which is also trek starting point, its safe
to park your vehicle overnight. By the time we reached there, it was raining and
major worry was slippery rocks. The trek started with steps to the temple, more
than 350 straight stairs, leading to the temple. Stairs are surrounded by trees both
sides and some signboards with pictures of animals, butterflies.
Starting Point of Trek (Picture was taken in the morning when we returned from trek)
Stairs picture was taken in the morning when we were returning back to the parking lot
We stopped at Sri Kashi Vishweshwara
temple. Though it was closed we stopped there for some time, explored the
temple area and the water source.
The real adventurous hiking trail
starts from behind the temple. Its 1.5 km vertical trail, at some places steps, are carved into the rocks and at other places, you have to hop through the
rocks to reach to the top. Slippery rocks were a concern but good quality of
hiking boot can do the job. The trekking was steep at first through narrow
stone crafted but later it was manageable. Don't forget to carry torch for
lights and water bottles.
Another major attraction here is the caves, formed by
volcanic rocks. Some of these caves are very narrow and explored by crawling
through them, as there is not much space to allow you to stand and explore
them.
You can also see the great view of town and NH75
By the time we explored caves and camping site Sun started shining we started
getting down. Easy trek back and we stopped at
the temple again. It was good, quality time out there, water at the pond was pure
and cool, Sun was out, mother nature started unfolding its beauty, birds chirping
started and monkeys started making noise and mischief.
There is also one viewpoint, where you can see the entire
hill and volcano rocks.
Picture Credit - Bhawani Dash
Picture Credit - Bhawani Dash
After cave exploration, some of us including yours truly returned
back to temple but some of our group members went
further up and reached at the top. When we all returned to the parking lot, I came
to know about their further adventure and got disappointed as I was not aware
that after cave we can go further up.
But now I am determined to go back to Anthargange again and
complete the trekking. Night trekking was good but I think early morning trek
to this place will be much better. Anyways that’s for next time.
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